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Human Rights

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Human rights are a subject that means different things to different people. Just today, I

asked three people what they think of when asked for their definition of human rights, and every

response I received was quite different. In high-level terms, human rights are those privileges

that are inherent to all human beings, regardless of nationality, country, sex, national or ethnic

origin, color, religion, language, or any other characteristics. Everyone has the same entitlement

to human rights; we are all created equally in this regard. These rights are all interrelated,

interdependent, and indivisible.

Universal human rights are articulated in the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of

Human Rights (UDHR) which was created in 1948 after the tragic events of WWII and the

Holocaust. There was a tremendous need to create a piece that addressed people’s concerns over

human rights in general, while at the same time ensuring the terrible mistakes of the past would

not repeat itself. The Declaration is comprised of thirty articles that deliver a comprehensive

statement on social, economic, cultural, political, and civil rights. Over the past fifty years, the

UDHR has been commonly referred to as customary international law for, in most countries, it is

treated as such. Needless to say, not all countries have applied this law equally. In most socialist

and communist countries, the focus has been on social welfare rights, such as education, jobs,

and health care; but political rights of their citizens are often limited. On the other hand, the

focus in the U.S. has traditionally been on political and civil rights. Rarely, however, does the

U.S. government recognize social and economic issues, such as health care, homelessness,

environmental pollution, as human rights issues, especially within its own borders (Flowers,

n.d.).

The UDHR is not a legally-binding document; therefore, in order for the aforementioned

rights to have legal backing, they must be written into documents called conventions or treaties,
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which dictate international norms and standards. A government is legally bound to uphold the

standards within a treaty or convention once it is signed. After the UDHR was adopted by the

UN General Assembly, two separate covenants were created. The International Covenant on

Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) addresses the civil and political rights of individuals, such as

freedom of religion and freedom of speech. The International Covenant on Economic, Social,

and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) articulates those articles in the UDHR that define an individual’s

economic, social, and cultural rights, such as rights to housing, food, health care, and other basic

necessities. Both covenants were adopted by the UN in 1966 (Flowers, n.d.).

A question that comes to mind is how can we effectively enforce theses various

covenants and treaties for all members of the human race? While groups like the UN, Amnesty

International, and Human Rights Watch strive to achieve this goal, it is extremely difficult to

attain. And how can we advocate for universal human rights while still maintaining respect for

cultural, religious, and other differences? What appears to be a violation of one’s human rights in

one’s eyes may not be viewed as such in the eyes of the other, based on their religious or other

conscientiously-held belief.

Human rights have become essential to our understanding of how human beings should

be treated, and how they should treat each other. Human rights should be viewed and treated as

the foundation for a moral and better quality of life; one where everyone is treated equally. From

a philosophical perspective, there is a belief in the existence of a form of justice valid for every

individual. Unfortunately, this is not at all the case in our contemporary world. There is no

morally- compelling order based upon human rights. While there are still some fundamental

differences between the beliefs of philosophical supporters and those of human rights opponents,

from a moral standpoint the case for human rights remains a powerful one.
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References

Flowers, N. (n.d.). Human Rights here and now: Celebrating the Universal Declaration of

Human Rights. Retrieved from

http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/edumat/hreduseries/hereandnow/Part-1/whatare.htm.

(2010, Dec. 7).